Archive for the ‘WTA News’ Category

Posted on November 21, 2008 - by The Insider

Tatiana Golovin May Have To Retire From Tennis

There have been speculations that France’s Tatiana Golovin might leave tennis because of her persistent back injury, but according to a fan site Tatiana is not losing hope.

In an e-mail Tatiana sent to www.golovin-attitude.com, she said:

“Unfortunately, I’m still suffering from my back, so I have to stop again, I can’t tell you more. It is pretty tough but I am ok and I am still optimistic.“

Well, it doesn’t sound too good, but there still are chances of the 20-year-old’s return.

In addition, they are stating at the site that Tatiana’s disease might be Ankylosing spondylitis, which is a chronic degenerative inflammatory arthritis. According to doctors, athletes who have this disease will have their careers filled with ups and downs.

Posted on November 14, 2008 - by The Insider

Daniela Hantuchova Confirms For Brisbane International

Slovakian glamour girl, Daniela Hantuchova, is the latest to confirm her attendance at the Brisbane International in January.

The world number 19 was a semifinalist at the Australian Open in 2008 and broke into the top 10 when she reached number 5 in August 2002.

She will be joined by French Open Champion Ana Ivanovic and reigning Australian Women’s Hardcourt Champion Na Li in the women’s draw.

The men’s draw boasts Novak Djokovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Marcos Baghdatis, Gael Monfils, Richard Gasquet and Mardy Fish with the player cut off date, for the tournament ,on the 21 November.

Daniela Hantuchova said “I am really excited about returning to Australia and playing a strong field in the lead up to the Grand Slam.

“I took home some really nice memories last year. It was something very special for me.

“With my preparation this year and the quality field at the Brisbane International, I will be even more ready.

“I love Australia and have played in tournaments there since 2001. I am looking forward to playing in this new event and challenging some high quality players in the lead up to the Australian Open.”

Posted on November 13, 2008 - by The Insider

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Have Released Season Ending Rankings

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has released the official 2008 season-ending tennis rankings.

Jelena Jankovic has ended the tennis year as the number one tennis player in the world, followed by Serena Williams, Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva, and Ana Ivanovic.

2007 POINTS DROPPED ON NOVEMBER 10: Madrid (SEC)

Top 20 Rankings (November 10, 2008)

1. Jelena Jankovic - Serbia - 4710

2. Serena Williams - United States - 3866

3. Dinara Safina - Russia - 3817

4. Elena Dementieva - Russia - 3663

5. Ana Ivanovic - Serbia - 3457

6. Venus Williams - United States - 3272

7. Vera Zvonareva - Russia - 2952

8. Svetlana Kuznetsova - Russia - 2726

9. Maria Sharapova - Russia - 2515

10. Agnieszka Radwanska - Poland - 2286

11. Nadia Petrova - Russia - 1976

12. Caroline Wozniacki - Denmark - 1678

13. Flavia Pennetta - Italy - 1670

14. Patty Schnyder - Switzerland - 1590

15. Victoria Azarenka - Belarus - 1494

16. Alize Cornet - France - 1492

17. Marion Bartoli - France - 1410

18. Anna Chakvetadze - Russia - 1363

19. Dominika Cibulkova - Slovakia - 1337

20. Katarina Srebotnik - Slovakia - 1272

SONY ERICSSON WTA TOUR RANKINGS

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings is the worldwide computer ranking for women’s professional tennis.

The ranking system is a 52-week, cumulative system in which the number of Tournament results that comprise a player’s ranking is capped at 17 Tournament results for Singles and 11 Tournament results for Doubles.

The results used to determine a player’s ranking are the Tournaments yielding the player’s highest Ranking points over the past 52 weeks.

Posted on November 10, 2008 - by The Insider

Venus Williams Wins Year Ending Event in Doha

Venus Williams closed the book on the 2008 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tennis season by winning the season-ending Championships title on Sunday.

The 2008 Wimbledon champion defeated Vera Zvonareva in the final match of the year in Doha, Qatar.

Williams won her first Sony Ericsson Championships title in three sets 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-2. She is the first American to win the title since her sister Serena took the title in 2001.

“It’s a fantastic feeling to end the season this way,” Williams said after winning her 39th career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title and third of 2008, having previously won Wimbledon and Zurich.

Posted on November 10, 2008 - by The Insider

TennisTV Is Coming in January 2009. Online Video Streaming Of Tennis Tournaments

The ATP and WTA have announced a new joint venture website which is a new online video streaming website, TennisTV.com.

TennisTV will launch in January 2009 and will offer live streaming of more than 700 matches, highlights, exclusive interviews and behind the scenes features from more than 40 tournaments around the world.

Posted on November 7, 2008 - by The Insider

Jelena Jankovic’s Official Website Gets Hacked

Oh my God! I can’t believe this. I’m shocked and freezed. Jelena Jankovic’s official website has been hacked by some Albania & Kosova Hackers Group.

Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic is currently the top-ranked women’s tennis player in the world and I suppose all of you know about the problem with Serbia and Kosovo.

This happens to unsecure websites all the time. It is going to be a lot of work for Jelena Jankovic to now get her website back online and working. Additionally, she will have to put security measures in place to make sure this doesnt happen again.

Posted on November 4, 2008 - by The Insider

Sony Ericsson Championships Doha - Ivanovic and Dementieva Play On Island

Ana Ivanovic and Elena Dementieva have marked the start of the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha by having a hit on a desert island!

The Serb and the Russian played on a replica tennis court, specifically built for the occasion, on Palm Island in the middle of Doha Bay in the Arabian Gulf. The whole experience is even more special because of the stunning Doha skyline in the distance.

“It was such a fun way to start the Sony Ericsson Championships; it was amazing and so unusual to be playing tennis on a deserted island with no one there but Elena, myself and the ballboys,” 2008 Roland Garros champion Ana Ivanovic said after the game.

Her opponent Elena Dementieva was also astonished: “It was such a special experience to play a game of tennis in the middle of the sea looking back at the Doha skyline - what a great memory to have of Doha.”

The purpose of such unusual places to play tennis is to drag attention of potential new fans and promote women’s tennis.
This is a marketing campaign that the WTA actually got right! They chose two of the best looking female tennis players in the world and then they put them in a crazy location and make them play tennis. This is great to promote the tour, however I still think they are missing a trick by not promoting the players personally a lot more!

Posted on October 28, 2008 - by The Insider

Svetlana Kuznetsova Leaves Sanchez Academy and Coach Ortega

Kuznetsova, a consistent presence in the Top 10, has defected from the Sanchez-Casal Academy in Spain, where she has trained since her teenage years. She also split from coach Stefan Ortega, in favor of former tour player Olga Morozova.

“I have gotten to a stage in my life where I would like to return to my family and continue developing my career,” said Kuznetsova. “It’s a bizarre situation and feeling for me to be working with another coach, as I have only been with the academy since I went pro. But I feel and hope this will be a successful decision for me moving forward.”

Posted on October 28, 2008 - by The Insider

Current World Number One Jelena Jankovic To Play Sydney International 2009

Current World number one Jelena Jankovic will headline a strong women’s field at the Syndey International.

The Serb, who will end the 2008 season as the WTA Tour’s top-ranked player, joins world No.2 Dinara Safina, No.3 Serena Williams and Beijing Olympic gold medallist Elena Dementieva in the January tournament.

Tournament director Craig Watson said Jankovic, a finalist at the 2007 Sydney International, will be making her only appearance at an official event in the lead-up to the Australian Open in Melbourne.

Jankovic is one of eight women to hold the year-end world number one ranking since the computer rankings were created in 1975, joining Justine Henin, Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, to play in Sydney.

Posted on October 27, 2008 - by The Insider

Flavia Pennetta Improve Results After Getting Rid of Carlos Moya

Pennetta’s romance to the former world number one ended some time ago, but her wounds may have not completely healed, according to tennisreporters.net.

Their break up was apparently caused by Moya’s infidelity. In July 2007, Pennetta traveled to Båstad to pay a surprise visit to Moya, who was there playing in a tournament. The article states that she “found him with another woman,” and she is “still raw from the way the relationship ended.”

Coincidentally or not, Pennetta is in the midst of a career year on the court. She has reached four tournament finals in 2008, and has risen to a career-high No. 14 in the world rankings (on October 20).